The Visa Loophole

We don’t know what these people do once they get here or whether they ever go home. Adam Kredo writes in the Washington Free Beacon:

The Obama administration is failing to adequately screen and track nearly 10 million foreign immigrants who were let into the country on visas last year, according to a congressional member of the House Judiciary Committee, who disclosed to the Washington Free Beacon that there is “tremendous pressure” on federal authorities to green light these visas despite the inability to fully vet foreigners.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R., Va.) told the Free Beacon that nearly four years after a government oversight body highlighted critical vulnerabilities in the U.S. visa system, the risk of infiltration and fraud remains at record highs.

These flaws have allowed terrorists to gain legal entry to the United States, yet the Obama administration continues to pressure federal authorities to admit individuals into the country—even those who have failed to properly complete their visa applications, Forbes said.

These practices have prompted Forbes to spearhead legislation aimed at tightening security screening measures and cracking down on fraudulent visa applications.

“What most Americans don’t realize is that just last year alone we had about 10 million people that came into the United States on visas,” Forbes said in an interview. “That’s a pretty large number and we really don’t have the processes of completely vetting those individuals, nor do we have processes often times of keeping up with them once they get here. So in addition to just driving or walking across the border, or sneaking across the border, on the Southern border, we have 10 million that just come in because we stamped a visa and allowed them to come in.”

While congressional leaders and law enforcement authorities have warned that foreign terrorists could exploit security gaps in the visa waiver program, the Obama administration continues to green light immigrants in record numbers, Forbes said.

“I don’t think they’re [the administration] being held accountable and I think part of the reason they’re not held accountable is because this is one of those issues that they love to blend apples and oranges and confuse the public with,” Forbes said.

“What we do know is that there sometimes can be tremendous pressure to stamp these visas and get them moving,” the lawmaker added. “This is an administration that has taken the motto of finding yes instead of being correct.”

As congressional concerns over the issue grow, the Obama administration is moving forward with a plan to resettle some 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States this year. In a bid to expedite the process, screening times for these individuals have been cut from around 18 to 24 months to about three months.

Obama administration officials have admitted that the current system is flawed and “presents risks to our national security.”